National Pollution Inventory
Tushar Babu
u3225862

Motivation

We have been encountering a series of climate-change incidents in the recent years.

Data Source

Australian government releases data once every year(31st March) reporting on the incidents of pollutant related details from across the country. An encouraging step, which could be used for extracting insightful information and trends over varying time periods. An action plan with significant impact can be created accordingly.

How does the data fare?

We have pollutant data with respect to the following,

  • Substances
  • Facilities
  • Transfers
  • Emissions

A look at the Data Model

Substances

Further information on substances can be found at, https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/substance-list-and-thresholds

Substances(insights)

Australian Government tracks 93 substances. These are reported by organisations in Australia from 2007-08 onwards.

Of the 93 there are,

  • 41 substances which could contribute to photochemical formation of Ozone.

  • 91 substances can pollute air.

  • 89 substances can pollute water.

  • 87 substances can pollute land.

Facilities(insights)

  • Maximum number of facilities 1760 are in the state QLD.
  • Least number of facilities 50 are in the state of ACT.
  • Suburb Karratha from the state WA has most number of facilities 61.
  • 1001 facilities calssified under Petroleum Product Wholesaling are most common in Australia.
  • As expected, most common activity is Petroleum Product Wholesaling with 193 in the country.

Mapping Facilities

Transfer Destinations

  • A set of classifying destination to which substance are to be tansferred.
  • There are 27 classifications.
  • 11 of these classifications need mandatory reporting of the end destination.
  • 15 destinations are classified Off-Site which would mean away from the site where the substance was created.

Transfers

Emissions

Emissions(insights)

Emission has been reported from 1998 to 2020. Maximum emission was reported in the year 2007 at 4.1630714^{9}. Facillity Mount Isa Mines has reported highest amount of emissions.

Conclusion

  • We could see significant amount of pollutants across Australia.
  • Barring ACT, not many states have been successful in curbing emissions.
  • Actions need to be taken for preventing further degradation.
  • While we find issues with pollutants, we should acknowledge that most of it is for power generation or are petroleum related.
  • We should find the right balance and alternatives for reducing these necessities.